Sue lives, breathes and sleeps kiwi, and is our longest standing trustee and volunteer. Her involvement stretches back to 2008, she has acted as both Treasurer and Chair over that time. Her job when not helping the Trust is a sheep and beef farmer, her and husband Tim, farm at Mangamingi in eastern Taranaki. They are owners of the Tōtara Block, the first release site for kiwi from the Taranaki Kōhanga Kiwi at Rotokare, and have three adult children. Sue has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Botany & Microbiology. As well as being an accredited kiwi handler and trainer for recreation, she is also part owner of a cafe near her home town Geraldine.
Sam grew up with her family travelling around the Middle East and Africa and developed her love of wildlife and adventure then. She studied Biology with an emphasis on Zoology and Ecology and always thought she would work with animals in Africa. She then went on to study Physiotherapy and travelled to New Zealand. She met a human kiwi, had plenty of adventures and mishaps, set up home and had three children. Friends introduced her to kiwi through an egg lift and she was hooked. After volunteering and helping a kiwi handler she was invited to become a Trustee of the Taranaki Kiwi Trust is now the Chair and eventually became an accredited kiwi handler. The adventure of searching for kiwi in rugged terrain and being involved with wildlife has brought her the full circle.
Don was a holy terror when at school. He had 5 fiery red headed sisters that attacked and hen pecked him at every chance which made his younger years a challenge. Don left school and home at the ripe age of 14 and did stints at farming, truck driving, clear felling native bush, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and all in all living a very free and easy life. The next 20 years saw Don getting married, and 2 sons to be very proud of was all that was left of the marriage. He had steady jobs in fertiliser, oil and gas, plus a stint at being a wharf carpenter. The wave recorder and jetties on the breakwater are still there today. Don eventually took redundancy from the oil and gas jobs as he reckons after 25 years of shift work he was grumpy enough.
Don then went and worked in Farm Merchant stores, but got sick of telling lies to sell stuff to farmers they didn’t require.
So after he met his buddy (Justine) they started a business selling natural fertiliser and animal health. They by chance ran into a former TKT person that was looking for some volunteers to look after stoat traps in the Uruti Valley, so they took this on for several years. Don is now retired so whenever we pick up the phone and ask him to help he always says yes, he is a much loved member of our team. He now traps a family property in Waitōtara and is very proud of the impact he is having there.
Kevin Stokes has been volunteering for the Taranaki Kiwi Trust for the past 12 years and is a very experienced kiwi practitioner and trainer. Kevin was a keen hunter back in the day and while he no longer hunts he now uses his bush navigation skills to track kiwi. Kevin has a passion for advocacy and loves sharing his kiwi passion and knowledge with his grandchildren and other tamariki.
Jenny is Taranaki born and bred, has gardened all her life and is married to Guy with three adult sons. A Bachelor of Horticulture at Massey University lead to many landscaping/horticultural roles before retraining as a Certified Massage Therapist. The ‘Oakley Garden’ has been in the Taranaki Garden Festival for each of the 38 years since it began and is known county-wide by gardening enthusiasts. Jenny thoroughly enjoys the Kiwi work, is an accredited kiwi handler and more recently has taken to photography, many of the fabulous images we use were taken by Jenny.
Guy came to Taranaki 45 years ago to start work as a vet and married Jenny not long after that. They enjoy doing outdoor activities, such as cycling, tramping and gardening. He has since retired but was not idle for long, Celine got hold of him and Jenny and suggested that they volunteer for TKT.
This has been a great experience for them both and they have enjoyed all aspects of kiwi work. Guy is an accredited kiwi handler and has dusted off some of his veterinary skills and now plays a key role in health screening of kiwi translocated from TKKR.
Drew (Ngāi Tahu) has been involved with the Trust for many years. His family sponsored the operation nest egg for both Silver and Marshmallow and have been actively involved in the kiwi programme on Te Papakura o Taranaki.
Spending many a weekend on the Maunga monitoring birds and assisting with transmitter changes and health checks.
He joined the board in 2019 and brings strong information technology skills and previous trustee experience.
He is also the Taranaki/Whanganui Conservation Board Chair and assists with keeping the Trust’s website up to date.
Gloria has been involved with TKT since 2014 with trap lines on family-owned Forestry blocks at Puniwhakau and Matau. She has held various senior management jobs within the public service for over more than 42 years. She is currently the Regional Commissioner for the Ministry of Social Development. This role involves the leadership of over 200 staff across Taranaki, King Country, and Whanganui to achieve the purpose of supporting New Zealanders to be safe, strong and independent. A key pillar in this purpose revolves around the alignment of the economy and labour market with individuals seeking employment. So, she has a history of caring for kiwi in her paid job as well as in the weekends.
After eight years studying and then working in Wellington, Bayley returned to New Plymouth as she was keen to work and contribute back to the community in her home region. One part of this was joining TKT as a trainee board member through the Taranaki Young Professionals ‘Get on Board’ programme.
Having learnt more about the vital work needed in Taranaki to protect our national bird, Bayley jumped at the opportunity to formally join the Trust’s board in September 2020 and contribute to these efforts in a way best suited to her professional skills.
Outside of the Trust, Bayley works as a lawyer at Govett Quilliam Taranaki and is the co-author of several published articles, including a legal overview of intergenerational trust fund models such as that for the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust.
Bayley is also involved in local musical theatre productions.
Tāne (Ngā Mahanga a Tairi) the newest trustee works as the Kaiwhakahaere a rohe for Te Ara Taiao Conservation Education project and is a tutor of Matauranga Māori for Conservation at Te Pukenga/WITT. He has a varied background including engineering/construction, and running their family clothing business.
Tane is heavily involved in environmental work for hapū Ngā Mahanga a Tairi, is trustee for Pūniho Pā, and has taught rangatahi/youth at both WITT and Te Wananga o Aotearoa. More recently delivering the Kai Oranga program alongside his wife at Ōkorotua Marae, Oakura Pa.
With a deep passion for the environment his drive comes from his whakapapa connections to the Maunga, Whenua and Awa from within the Taranaki rohe/region and aspires to reconnecting our future leaders of tomorrow to the environment through building resilient relationships that aspire to the protection of the environment.
Macy (Ngaa Rauru, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Kāi Tahu) joined the trust in early 2025. Her passion for Te Taiao is rooted in her whakapapa and her upbringing in Whanganui and Kai Iwi, and the enduring efforts of her Hapū and Iwi to protect their lands and rivers.
Macy’s values are further influenced by the stories of her kuia, who grew up in South Taranaki during the 1930s and 40s. With a background in environmental policy, research, and advocacy, Macy has previously worked with Te Kaahui o Rauru, the Post Settlement Governance Entity for Ngaa Rauru, and the Ministry for the Environment. She is keen to represent the teachings and aspirations of her people within the Trust.
Celine struggled a bit with the discipline of secondary education, managing a few school certificate subjects back in the day but is a Certified Festival and Events Executive and has passed a Nexus Partner Influential Leadership course. She has a long history of working with not-for-profits in the community and sporting sectors. As the trust manager the buck stops with her, for finding the money, overseeing the projects, supporting the board, building partnerships and taking care of the staff. When not juggling all those balls she is a councillor at South Taranaki District Council and sits on the board of another Trust. Celine is well known as a cook and entertainer, is a singer, plays several instruments (badly), loves sport and has a strong aversion to the establishment. She has a reputation for the hard truth, getting things done, speaking her mind and backing her people.
Jess always knew she wanted to work with animals, and spent a long time at university studying towards a career in conservation. She has a BSc in Zoology, an MSc in Conservation Biology, and a Certificate in Captive Animal Management under her belt. She started working for the trust in 2019, and also got the Kiwi Ranger job for the Taranaki Kohanga Kiwi at Rotokare project in 2022. Through her work with TKT and the kōhanga, Jess achieved qualified kiwi handler quickly and helps monitor kiwi all around the region. She is also involved in education and advocacy work (something her younger self would’ve been terrified of) and supports the Trust’s other projects where needed. When she’s not out in the bush, Jess loves cooking, gardening, and spending time with her rescue greyhounds Louie and Mouse, and tortoise Pip. Jess is the quiet member of the team, but once questioned she will always offer up a valuable and considered contribution.
Toby was born and raised in Taranaki and has always enjoyed learning about and exploring the forests, maunga and rugged coastline of the region. Toby has a bachelor of science majoring in ecology and has worked on a number of conservation and restoration projects on pest free offshore islands. Before joining the Trust as a kiwi ranger Toby had spent seven years with the Taranaki Regional Council working on biodiversity protection, the last three of which he was project manager for the Towards Predator-Free Taranaki project. The main tasks of the kiwi ranger job include monitoring and surveying kiwi populations throughout the region, along with tracking of recently released kiwi within Te Papakura o Taranaki. Toby is a keen surfer, has a reputation for being an active relaxer and loves to pass on his appreciation of the environment to his two young kids.
Sian has a Bachelor of Science majoring in zoology and ecology and has been working in kiwi conservation for the past 10 years. Prior to moving to Taranaki Sian spent seven years working on restoration projects on a number of New Zealand’s offshore islands. Her past roles have included species translocations, biodiversity monitoring, plant nursery management, managing a kiwi creche and Kiwi Operations Leader for the Trust. When not out saving kiwi Sian is usually found running around after her two awesome kiddies Isla and Koa who keep her busy and on her toes. If she is not juggling work and kids Sian can be found on their lifestyle block planting trees, gardening, horse riding or hanging at the beach with her family and their two dogs. Sian very rarely sits still, always approaches tasks with a smile and is known for her ability to wing it when she needs to.
Jono cruised through Stratford High School without trying too hard. After finishing School he headed to the big smoke (Auckland) where he spent a number of years as a bicycle courier around the CBD (among various other jobs). After a few years in Europe working and cycle touring he eventually gained a Diploma of Outdoor Recreation Leadership at what was the Auckland Institute of Technology (now University of Technology). This led to several enjoyable years working in the Abel Tasman, in the sea kayaking industry before volunteering for 5 months on Raoul Island as a weeder which kicked off a career (of almost 20 years) in pest plant control, mostly for DOC and Greater Wellington Regional Council. This involved some great stints living on remote islands (Raoul, Hauturu/Little Barrier and Lord Howe). He has now returned to Taranaki to take up his current position as Kiwi Habitat Protection Leader. Jono likes a quiet life and is keen to just get on with the job in the background and stay out of the limelight.
Administration Leader
Nadine is Taranaki born and bred and had a career in Insurance spanning 27 years until a skiing accident forced her to slow down considerably. Having to learn to rest, this determined active relaxer is now relishing whatever tasks are being thrown her way to aid the Trust. With a keen eye for numbers and words, outside of work Nadine enjoys trail running and the outdoors and has achieved a half marathon across Mt Ruapehu, along with being able to back flip on a trampoline.
